Do you know how many times I say that to myself in the course of a week? It's like a mantra.

Mar 2nd, 2009 10:40 PM

Protoclown

I do vaguely remember such a time when he was good at it too. I just loaned my roommate "Torso" to read and I was like "I remember this being good at the time, but I don't know if that's because it actually wasn't formulaic or if I just hadn't gotten tired of the formula yet." But he finished it and said that it honestly was good, so my memory did not fault me.

Mar 2nd, 2009 09:48 PM

mburbank

No, no, I swear to god, he used to be good at dialogue. He started out like the friggin' David Mamet of comic books, it's like he got whacked in the head with the same big stick of stupid as Loeb. I swear, they should check the Marvel bullpen for gas leaks.

Mar 2nd, 2009 07:03 PM

Protoclown

I don't know why I am buying this book. Is something wrong with me?

That said, at least the dialog wasn't as painfully formulaic and crappy as it usually is from Bendis. Everybody says he's so good at dialog...but those people must think it's normal for everyone to talk EXACTLY THE FUCKING SAME.

Mar 2nd, 2009 06:58 PM

mburbank

I was waiting for them to do Nose Goblin.

Mar 2nd, 2009 11:21 AM

Graystreet

I didn't like the fact that they kept creating an endless string of new and each time sillier Goblin replacements, at least now that is he is back that is over...

I mean it's not like Harry's about to marry a Goblin knock-off or anything.

......CRAP!

Mar 2nd, 2009 10:52 AM

mburbank

I'm going to play my age card and say I was just fine with the very long chunk of continuity where the Green Goblin was dead. You know, for the first time.

I never dug the Green Goblin all that much.

Green Goblin is a stupid name.

The Osborne family had stupid hair.

Mar 2nd, 2009 02:55 AM

HowardC

Actually, wouldn't Norman be OK with mowing down a bunch of spiderman's? He's the frikkin green goblin, that'd be like therapy to him! Don't forget he became the goblin by literally inhailing CRAZY GAS. Killing someone just because they pissed him off is EXACTLY what osbourne would do so don't kid yourself. He was always a realitively together guy who would randomly and fiercefully flaw off the handle and go on murderous rampages due to the littlest bit of stress or when he felt threatened. It was the goblin in his head fighting for control. It could be that thunderbolts was so poorly written that you've forgotten how the character is supposed to act.

Feb 28th, 2009 09:24 AM

RevengeVirus

Outright murdering a team member in a fit of rage is pretty out of character if you've been reading the thunderbolts. He's crazy yeah, but he'd only kill his own men if he had a reason, not in an uncontrollable outburst. We're talking about a character that kept his cool during a huge alien invasion, during which several Skrulls shape-shifted into spider-men that he mowed down without without having a nervous breakdown. But here he is, killing his own man because they were arguing.

Then throwing him out a window. And down mountains. With a sword in his chest.

Feb 28th, 2009 12:02 AM

Graystreet

I have to ask though, how is Norman Osborne being unstable out of character? I haven't been following the buildup with any great loyalty, but Normie's always been a nutty one, and it's presumably taking a lot out of him to maintain his sane appearance for the world at large.

Feb 27th, 2009 11:51 PM

Graystreet

The Sentry miniseries was a finite series because it contained a definitive ending for the character. The Sentry and The Void were both put back to sleep, and erased from the world's memory again, but this time it was with his permission and he knew what was going on, so it was not like he was going to wake up and do it all over again.

Then Bendis disregarded everything from the last three issues of the miniseries and ruined the character.

Feb 26th, 2009 02:35 AM

Nick

This looks fantastic. Not really.

Feb 26th, 2009 02:08 AM

HowardC

Dangit I was hoping I could just igonre the whole "tony stark is heading shield, spiderman went public, the cap is dead, hulk is a bad guy and 50% of the supes are skrulls" mess and wait for a sensible reboot before I start reading marvel cannon again but now this crap. WTF happened to venom? WTF happened to thor? I'm confused and yet I'm still to scared to dive into the last two or three years of crappy marvel writing to find out.

I've been reading thor v3 for a year now and he's done NOTHING about the skrull invasion. When did that change, in some stupid one issue crossover?

Wasn't the Sentry created by Bendis? And isn't it Bendis that then put him in the Avengers?

I believe you are making plenty of valid points, but I don't understand where you are getting the idea that the Sentry was never meant to be include in the regular Marvel universe?

Feb 25th, 2009 10:54 AM

mburbank

Like I said, I'm OK with Dark Avengers at the moment.

My problem with Sentry is as he was meant to be a finite mini series. It was good, and the Jae Lee artwork rocked. But Sentry was concieved as 50% hoax and 50% literary device. It's a HUGE msitake to play that out as a character.

You want a mentally ill powerhouse? There are a few already out there, or make up a new one. Unless you are really interested in working out themes on the history of the modern superhero or the DC consept vs. the Marvel concept, he's going to be clumsy, inept, ill fitting and hazily defined at best. And at worst, he's an insultingly trivial take on mental illness and comic fans.

Feb 25th, 2009 12:19 AM

comhcinc

Sorry but I like the Sentry. I like the whole "hey look it's Superman, oh wait is he hearing voices again? LOOKOUT!" aspect of the character.

Feb 24th, 2009 09:56 PM

Purple Man

Well, I'm a-goin' to risk me some serious flaming here, and say I like Dark Avengers. At least, I intend to follow it for a while. Yeah, it's been done before, but not well, IMO. So far, it's been going the way Thunderbolts should have gone, before that title got so bogged down. (Although the recent 'Bolts revamp shows promise - I much prefer Black Widow II over I).

I always felt the Sentry was an unhelpful jerk; laziest plot device evar. "I'm so depressed! Somebody cheer me up!". He's a super-emo in bright yellow. To be fair, the five-part "Age of the Sentry" mini was a hoot if you're a Sliver Age fan - it even had the Blonde Phantom. But I'm in aggreement with all that captain bringdown in the yellow spandex has to go.

So I've SORT OF taken to Dark Reign; it's a good time to be a villain in the MU. That is, if one can work out what the hell one is doing. As Mr Burbank observed recently, continuity has gone out the window in many titles. Example : "Modok's 11" has me running a casino in Reno; "Omega Flight" has me causing grief in Canada; and "New Avengers" has not only got me running around with that cheap punk, the Hood, but I'm also depicted waving a gun. A GUN? That is so insulting. The Purpster has never used a gun EVER. Whew, sorry, just had to vent.

Feb 24th, 2009 03:35 PM

RevengeVirus

Sentry in the hands of Bendis becomes a mildly retarded child that doesn't know if he was doing a bad thing by ripping a villain's head off. Osborne in the hands of Bendis acts completely out of normal character established in The Thunderbolts, goes insane for a moment and murders swordsman in a fit of rage. Fuck this book.

The worst thing about Dark Reign was that it instantly took over not a week after the Secret Invasion. This cross over event that had building up over years and years of continuity meant nothing because all it was doing was setting up for this crap. And you know whats coming out after this? Planet Skaar. For gods sake Marvel, give these giant crossovers a rest already.

Feb 24th, 2009 01:01 PM

rizzo

Dark Avengers is a dumb idea, and so is Sentry. I never felt that the Marvel U needed a Superman analog, even if he is a tortured/split personality/headcase.